Underwear with bike shorts? We answer the (sometimes literally) burning question


Bike shorts are designed to be worn without underwear, but the debate continues about what's the best practice.

(Margaret Haberman/The Oregonian)

Ah, spring. Thoughts turn to budding trees, trilling birds and underwear.

There's really no graceful way to get into the topic, so that's our attempt here at the Ocyclers Center of Awkward Transitions to broach a subject that incites passions on both sides.

Now is the time to ask, as people dust off their road bikes after a long winter: Bike shorts -- with underwear or without?

Mechanic Dane Rowray at Sellwood's

shop doesn't hesitate: Without. "Underwear makes you sweaty, moist, it bunches up, causes rashes. It's just weird," he says. When the 21-year-old went on his longest ride to date -- 96 miles between Santa Cruz, Calif., and Big Sur: no underwear.

The only time to wear briefs under bike shorts or tights? When you're trying on the clothes at a store, he says.

But customer Monique Dupre, 34, says maybe that's a guy thing. "It never even crossed my mind not to wear underwear," she says. But it's the opposite for her husband, she noted.

Those in the underwear camp cite plenty of advantages: The extra layer keeps your shorts cleaner -- that means fewer spins in the washing machine, so your bike gear lasts longer. Skivvies also reduce the "ick" factor when you have to put on sweaty bike shorts for the commute home.

But the cons: BVDs reduce the effectiveness of bike padding. They also can cause chafing.

The padding in bike shorts often is billed as antimicrobial.

Most bike shorts actually are designed to be the only thing between you and your bike seat. Adding another thickness defeats the purpose, no-underwear advocates say. And manufacturers typically list the padding in bike shorts as antimicrobial to control odor, so you're already basically wearing underwear.

For the bottom line, Ocyclers went to someone who should know:

, interim co-director of the

. She's a urogynecologist who does reconstructive pelvic surgery. As she says: "You can ask me anything." She's pretty much heard it all, given her specialty.

"It becomes about personal preference and the length of the bike ride," Edwards says.

For a short commute, cyclists might find it more convenient to wear underwear -- for a quick change or if they don't have access to a shower to clean up for the day, for instance.

But the longer the ride, the more pressure points come into play with underwear. And the irritations caused by rubbing can break the skin, Edwards says.

"There's nothing wrong with wearing underwear," she says. But for longer rides: "It's going to become a problem."

And that guy-girl thing? When pressed to speculate, Dr. Edwards says perhaps it's that men don't mind sweating -- or having people see them sweat -- as much as women, who might wear underwear to absorb perspiration so their shorts or tights don't show wet spots. But she's a scientist, so she says the question obviously needs more researching.

We here at the Ocyclers Don't-Send-Us-Your-Gender-Bias-Complaints Headquarters say just buy some Dry Idea -- the antiperspirant known for its catchphrase "Never let them see you sweat" -- and head out for a 50-mile ramble on your Kona. The underwear is up to you.

– Margaret Haberman